Lords Committee criticises timing of Government consultation on teachers' pay
The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee has today criticised the Department for Education for consulting on changes to teachers' pay for 2018-19 during the school summer holidays.
The Government laid an Order setting new pay ranges after consulting on recommendations made by the School Teachers' Review Body (STRB), published on 24 July of this year. The consultation ran for six weeks from 24 July to 3 September.
The Committee says that the scheduling of the consultation to coincide with school summer holidays made it difficult for the interested parties to formulate their views. In the Committee's view, the Department for Education prioritised its own requirements over the needs of the parties consulted.
Commenting, Lord Trefgarne, Chairman of the Committee, said:
“It is clear that completion of this year's pay review process was complicated by the need for Government to coordinate decisions on pay awards across several Departments, after the public sector pay cap was lifted in September 2017.
“We know that several of those who were consulted expressed their concern about the timing of publication of the STRB's report and the Government's proposed response. They argued that it did not give schools adequate time to prepare.
“It is hard to disagree with those views. Cross-Government coordination takes time, but the eventual need to involve others outside Government should be borne in mind and factored into planning that coordination.
“The Department for Education has said that it is working towards earlier completion of the process next year. We urge it to do so, and to arrange any consultation so that respondents have adequate opportunities to make their views known.
“We find its approach this year all the more disappointing since we criticised the timing that it set for consultation in 2017, on the previous report from STRB.”
Background on the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Order 2018 (SI 2018/998)
On 24 July 2018, following submission of evidence from the Department for Education and the representative bodies, the Government laid before Parliament the STRB's 28th report, and a proposed response to that report. The STRB recommended a 3.5% uplift to the minima and maxima of all pay and allowance ranges in the national pay framework. The Government consulted on the report from 24 July to 3 September.
Following consultation, the Government have accepted the STRB's recommendation for a 3.5% uplift to the minima and maxima of the main and unqualified pay ranges, while deciding to uplift the minima and maxima of the upper and the leading practitioner pay ranges and all allowances by 2%, and to uplift the minimum and maximum of the leadership pay range by 1.5%. The Order scrutinised by the Committee introduces the new pay and allowance ranges.
